Helping Earthquake Victims

MORRISTOWN  St. Margaret of Scotland Parish here — home to a large community of active and faithful immigrants from Ecuador — invites all people of good will to join them in helping provide critical relief to their beleaguered South American homeland. Ecua­dor was hit April 16 by a magnitude 7.8 earthquake — the worst disaster it has faced in decades — that has killed more than 570 people and injured more 5,000 so far.

The Morris County parish, which serves a large Hispanic population, encourages parishioners and others to bring donations of new items from a designated list for earthquake victims to the church hall this week from 6 to 9 p.m., until Friday, and on Sunday, May 1, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Items include tents, bedding, food, medical supplies, hygiene products, baby items, cooking implements and writing materials. St. Margaret’s kicked off the relief effort with a successful drive on the weekend of April 23-24, after the Consulate General of Ecuador authorized it as one of several collection centers and issued a list of requested items.

“This [news of the earthquake] has been terrible to hear. So many people have died and so many are suffering,” said Father Hernan Arias, St. Margaret’s pastor, who noted last week that most parishioners’ families were spared suffering because they live in the mountains — far from the coastal Manabi Province, where the tremors caused the most damage. “We [at St. Margaret’s] and happy to reach out and respond to help.”

The Consulate General plans to pick up the donated items after St. Margaret’s drive concludes on May 1. After the disaster struck, several parishioners attended a meeting about local relief efforts at the Consulate General in Newark, said Father Arias.

Needed items include: tents, inflatable mattresses and blankets; hygiene products, such as toothpaste, toothbrushes, bar soap, toilet paper and sanitary napkins; baby items, such as diapers, formula, food, bottles and Pedialyte; drinks, such as dry milk and boxed drinks like Parmalat, apple juice, fruit punch and Yoo-Hoo, and energy drinks; medical items, such as cotton balls, gauze pads, face masks, disposable gloves and rubbing alcohol; food and snacks, such as power/cereal bars, dry fruit, trail mix, crackers, cookies, rice, oatmeal, dry or canned grains like beans, lentils and peas, barley, sugar, cooking oil and pastas like spaghetti, elbows, shells and penne; cooking and dining items, such as new pots and pans, utensils, plates and cups; drawing and writing items, such as coloring books, crayons and paper; emergency items, such as battery operated AM/FM radios, batteries, flashlights, candles and plastic (not paper or foam); and other materials, such as insect repellent, sun block, bath towels, packaging tape, commercial size contractor/garbage bags (45 gallons or larger), cardboard boxes and hats (caps), according to the Consulate General’s list.

“The Consulate General of Ecuador in New Jersey and Pennsylvania certifies by way of this letter that the Parish of St. Margaret is authorized to be a collection center, the same which is intended to receive donations from the citizens to help the Ecuadorians affected by the earthquake which occurred in Ecuador on Saturday, April 16, ” Counsel General Jorge Lopez Amaya, wrote in an April 20 letter to St. Margaret’s, which it posted on Facebook, along with the donation list. “We are grateful for your invaluable assistance in this process,” Lopez said.

Previously published news reports call the April 16 earthquake the deadliest to rock Ecuador since 1987, when a 7.2-magnitude tremor killed 1,000 people. This recent earthquake caused extensive damage throughout the country, especially on the coast, which included deaths, injuries and collapsed buildings. Soon after the quake, Defense Minister Ricardo Patiño called it “the worst tragedy in 60 years. We’re facing the most difficult phase right now, which is rescuing victims and recovering bodies,” news reports stated.

St. Margaret’s has been serving members of the local Ecuadorian community since they arrived in and around Morristown more than a decade ago. They started two groups in the parish: one devoted to Our Lady of the Swan — inspired by the Blessed Mother’s appearance in El Cisne in Ecuador — and another devoted to the Divine Child of Jesus, which meets regularly to pray the rosary and read Scripture, Father Arias said.

“These two groups are very faithful and are always ready to help out at St. Margaret’s,” Father Arias said.

Information: St. Margaret of Scotland Parish

at (973) 538-0874.